The end of the calendar year is upon us, which means UFC fans are starting to wonder what the best knockout of 2024 really was.
Luckily, the promotion has put together a handy package of what they consider to be the best and most brutal KOs of the year; asking six of the top fighters competing at UFC 310 this weekend to rank them 1-5.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC 310 fighters rank the five best and most brutal knockouts of 2024
According to a video package released by the UFC, the five biggest knockouts of the year are Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis, Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje, Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill, Vinicius Oliveira vs. Benardo Sopaj and Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holle.
As part of the marketing for the final PPV of the year, six athletes scheduled to compete at this weekend's UFC 310 in Las Vegas were asked to rank those KOs from 1-5.
Interestingly, five of the six athletes had Max Holloway's final runner-up over Justin Gaethje as number one and Ilia Topuria's over Holloway as number two – the only deviation being Bryan Battle, who had Topuria ranked above 'Blessed'.
Bryce Mitchell: “I would say Max versus Gaethje is number one, number two is Ilia (vs Holloway), three is Poirier versus (Benoit Saint-Denis), and then the flying knee – I mean that was probably the hardest knock -out from all of them – and then Pereira with a left [hook].”
As aptly noted by 'Thug Nasty', who faces Kron Gracie at UFC 310: “They're all very good [knockouts],” and added, “But if I had to choose, that's the order.”
Alexandre Pantoja: “All great knockouts, all great fighters, but I think Max Holloway versus Gaethje in the last second of the round in a five-round fight, I'll give it to Max Holloway.”
The flyweight champion noted that his compatriot's flying knee against Sopaj was “amazing” but acknowledged that the 'biggest' knockouts come against the 'biggest' foes.
“The knee was great, but I think we have to rank the fighters, who these guys fought, and Topuria beat Max Holloway for the first time… Then you have Pereira, beautiful knockout, then Dustin Poirier and then the flying – knee – that's my ranking.”
Heavyweight Ciryl Gane went in reverse, revealing that he had studied Ilia Topuria's finish of Holloway ahead of his showdown with Alexander Volkov: “Topuria is an example, like we watched a video of Topuria during camp, because he's really incredible. Real.
“Fifth I say Alex Pereira's left hook, fourth I say the flying knee. Third, I'm going to say Dustin Poirier because of the storyline during the fight, the comeback. Second position, I say Topuria and the last 10 seconds of Gaethje vs Max Holloway were just amazing.”
As previously mentioned, Bryan Battle was the only fighter to have Topuria above Holloway in his roster, explaining how that was “based on who Max is” as finishing Blessed “is such an incredible achievement.
“Number two would be Max versus Gaethje because of who they both are and the situation. The fact that it was the fifth round, they didn't have to do that, but they did it anyway – that was a magical moment.
“Number three, Dustin Poirier vs. Saint-Denis – every knockout Poirier has, there's always a little extra flair, it's not just a regular knockout… Yeah, that Oliveira KO, it went smoothly. .. Pereira vs Hill at number five, I think. It will be a bit controversial, but Jamahal is my son and he was difficult to watch.'
Ian Machado Garry, who faces Shavkat Rakhmonov in the UFC 310 co-main event, was disappointed with his first and second picks: “The best knockout on this list is Max Holloway knocking out Justin Gaethje – absolutely 100% number one.
“Number two, you have to understand that it's not about the KO, it's about the moment, what it's for, the platform it's on, so Topuria knocking out Holloway – knocking out Volk and Holloway back-to-back is insane.
“Then I'd put Pereira knocking out Hill at number three, Oliveira's flying knee at number four and Poirier versus Saint-Denis number five… Those are some incredible knockouts.”
Finally, the section was rounded out by Aljamain Sterling, who stated that “the coldest for me is Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje.
“Number two I would say Topuria versus Holloway, number three I would say the flying knee, Dustin Poirier versus Saint-Denis [number four] and Pereira vs. Hill [number five].”
What do you think of these rankings, do you agree or disagree with the consensus opinion that Holloway's last-second KO was more impressive than Topuria's historic finish?
Related posts
Comments